23% of 123people Users Check Their Digital Footprint Regularly

Awareness about personal data online is growing – but further education still needed

VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 28th is International Data Privacy Day. This day draws the attention to a topic that affects every Internet user: Data Privacy and the handling of private information through the Internet. The latest figures from a national user survey conducted by the leading people search engine 123people (www.123people.com), reveals that 23 percent of Internet users search for their own name regularly, and in doing so 55 percent clearly intend to check their online reputation.*

“Although awareness about personal data online is growing, further information and education is still needed. We assume that 70 percent of the users that contact the 123people Customer Support Team need to know about their digital footprint or how to sustain and manage it”

“Although awareness about personal data online is growing, further information and education is still needed. We assume that 70 percent of the users that contact the 123people Customer Support Team need to know about their digital footprint or how to sustain and manage it”, explains Alexandra Senoner, Head of Corporate Communications. Most of the user requests sent to 123people’s Customer Support refer to the “deletion” of a specific link. 123people restricts every link upon request from its website, but as 123people does not store any links nor create any profiles, but generates the results and links in real-time each time a search is conducted, a real and effective deletion of the link can only be done by the user at the original source.

Education Still Important

“The Internet as we know it today is a very complex and fast growing field, and for the user often confusing“, says Senoner. “As a company it is our mission to inform the user with every reply from our 123people Customer Support Team. Because to actively manage his or her personal information on the Internet, it is particularly important to know what information is available online.” 123people is not only an easy tool to control a person’s own online reputation, but also helps the user to identify the original source, as every search result indicates where the information came from online. Therefore, with every user request the company contributes considerably to the education of the Internet user.

*Source: 123people User Survey on User Behavior, conducted in France, from July through September 2011.

About 123people

123people (www.123people.com) is a vertical search engine dedicated to people search. 123people empowers anyone to find information about themselves and others – free and fast. With more than 50 Million Unique Clients every month, 123people is one of the largest people search engines in the world. 123people is currently available in 12 countries, ten languages as well as app for iPhones and Android smartphones.

More on data privacy and how to manage your digital footprint at www.123people.com/page/reputation

Further information and pictures at www.123people.com/blog/press

Twitter: www.twitter.com/123people

About yelster digital

The yelster digital gmbh, formerly 123people Internetservices GmbH, is an Austrian company and was founded in 2007. The online directory 123pages (www.123pages.fr) and the leading people search engine 123people (www.123people.com) are services of the yelster digital gmbh. Since March 2010 the company is part of the French PagesJaunes Group.